The Dragon's Eye
by Late4F8
Summary: Completed. Sanzo and Gojyo are hired to capture an enchantress, and things don't go as planned. A fantasy AU with fairy-tale elements, curses, and magic, written for Saiyuki 7th Night challenge. Gojyo/Sanzo, and Hakkai and Goku and Hakuryuu. Mild adults situations, mild violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

There was once a town by the sea; the neglected fingertip of a larger kingdom, and thus often assailed by folk of less honorable purpose.

It was where the enchantress, Lady Gyokumen, was said to have taken refuge from the Ox-King, after turning the king's wife to stone.

It was also where Gojyo and Sanzo, two mercenary huntsmen employed by the king to find the enchantress, hoped to arrive soon, as they'd been walking for days and were very tired.

"I'm starting to think those directions the old man told us were wrong," said Gojyo. "We should have arrived hours ago."

Sanzo sighed. "More walking, less complaining." He adjusted his pack and gave Gojyo a look that dared him to speak again.

Gojyo just smiled, and Sanzo tsked and looked back toward the path.

"At least it's a pretty day."

Sanzo grunted.

"No marsh lights or goblins. No foul little pixies in our hair -"

"Quiet! Can't you just be quiet?" Sanzo reached over and shoved him away, and Gojyo chuckled.

He'd thought he'd hate working with the blond-haired man beside him, but in the month they'd travelled together, he'd come to appreciate his level-headed ways. Holding a conversation was a still a challenge and Sanzo was still quick with a sharp word. He didn't share Gojyo's base sense of humor, and Sanzo's tendency to take everything as a personal affront had made for a wretched few weeks.

But then they'd been attacked on the road by goblins looking for treasure. It was a nasty fight and they took a fair beating themselves. They'd made their way into the next town, ordered a mug of ale and sniped at at each other about how poorly the other had fought. And then Sanzo had stared off into the darkened corners of the inn's tavern.

"I'm tired," he'd murmured.

Gojyo had chuckled and draped an arm over his shoulder, intending to antagonize him just a little more. "I could tuck you into bed quite easily."

Sanzo had slowly turned his head to look at Gojyo, and Gojyo's laugh died away, because there was something in that gaze, an openness he'd only seen a few brief times. He studied Sanzo's eyes and could see no drunken haze, only the fatigue and a muted want Gojyo suddenly understood he'd never admit.

Upstairs, Gojyo found the animosity and discord disappeared between tangled sheets, and their harsh breaths and muttered encouragements were the only words between them.

"There it is," Sanzo said, interrupting Gojyo's thoughts.

From the top of the hill they'd crested, they could see the town was sprawling and lively. It's south edge followed a beach where a small port jutted into the water. There were no gates into the town, just a road dotted with small homes that led to merchant shops packed tightly together. Most folks ignored them as they entered the town, but there was the occasional friendly nod or suspicious glare.

Gojyo was taller than many of the folk, and a quick glare would turn suspicious eyes away. He glanced at Sanzo, who stood nearly as tall, but Sanzo either didn't notice or actively ignored any looks sent his way.

"Think they know we're hunting someone?" Gojyo felt someone brush against him and automatically checked that his coin purse was still attached.

"Who cares. They'll know when we start asking questions."

"True enough."

The road took them into an open square surrounded by merchants and a stray house.

"That vendor - smells good." Gojyo stopped and purchased a skewer of meat and some bread. "Want some?"

Sanzo wrinkled his nose, but reached over plucked away a piece of the meat.

They walked slowly around the square as they ate, listening to conversations and examining the townsfolk. When they'd returned to their starting point, Gojyo shrugged.

"Sounds like a normal town to me. No whispers of fear, no call to arms."

Sanzo hummed in agreement, and then nodded at one of the roads intersecting the square. "I'm going that way. You go where you like. Let's meet here in an hour - not more than two." He turned and jabbed a finger in Gojyo's chest. "And don't linger around chatting in the shops this time! I don't want to have to look for you."

Gojyo batted his finger away. "Said like you're some kind of leader - and you're not."

"Tch! Can you just make this easy?"

"I can make a lot of things easy." Gojyo leered.

Sanzo rolled his eyes.

"Very well. What if one of us finds her? You've made a plan?"

Sanzo clenched his jaw. "Do what you want. But if you get killed doing it by yourself, don't cry to me. I plan to catch her."

"Not if I catch her first."

They both smirked and then departed the public square.

Gojyo followed the road as it rolled gently downhill, past a tavern he'd be sure to bring to Sanzo's attention, and into another plaza smaller than the first. He passed through and followed the road where it turned and opened up to the port. There were a few small boats tied to the pier, a large ship out on the water in the distance, and another one unloading their catch on the dock. None of the vessels looked like the type to carry paying passengers, and Gojyo didn't feel inclined to speak to the fishermen just yet.

Gojyo turned back the way he'd come. He'd mentally mapped out a few areas where he could start asking questions, and there was another road off the small plaza he still wanted to explore.

When he reentered the plaza area, the road he'd intended to explore was blocked by a crowd of people.

As they moved and shifted, he could see a small procession of hooded figures cloaked in long, grey robes. The hood openings were covered with sheer fabric that obscured their faces. They flanked an attractive woman whom they carried on a silken swing strung between poles of bamboo. She wore a simple gown and cape trimmed with ribbons and gems, and even her long braid was woven with ribbon.

"Who's important today?" Gojyo elbowed a townsman who'd twice stepped on his foot, but before the man answered, screams and shouts came from the other end of the street. They both turned and Gojyo watched the crowd scatter away as a massive ox, tossing it's horned head and snorting foam, thundered downhill and directly towards the procession.

Gojyo looked from the ox and back to the woman and her servants stopped just inside the plaza. He looked to the crowd, but the people only pressed further against shop walls.

The ox would be upon the servants and the woman any moment, and he saw that no one intended to stop the animal. He withdrew his dagger and waited.

As the ox galloped by, Gojyo reached out, grabbed one long horn, and used the momentum to leap upon its back. He reached underneath and sliced the dagger through its throat. The ox gave a mighty roar and bucked and Gojyo tumbled over its head and onto the ground at its feet. It tossed its head and stabbed with its horns, striking a stunning blow to his cheek. He leaped up to avoid another blow, and turned to defend himself, but the ox only gasped and collapsed dead at his feet.

There were no cheers from the onlookers, only a moment of quiet suddenly punctuated by two soft claps.

"How heroic," said the woman from her swing. "Come!" She beckoned with a ringed finger.

Gojyo wiped his blade on the carcass and then approached the woman and inclined his head in respect. "I hope you've come to no harm, lady."

The woman laughed softly. "The Ox-King holds an old vendetta and turns his men to oxen to hunt and kill me." She held out her hand. "I would have cast down the beast with a simple spell. But I see you might make a valuable servant to me."

Gojyo froze as he realized the Lady Gyokumen was directly before him. He looked back at the fallen ox. But where had lain an ox, now lay a man in the armor of the king's guard. He immediately recalled a story that the enchantress had not only turned the queen to stone, but had turned the king's personal guardsmen to beasts of burden. But it had only been rumors and the king had denied it, telling his followers that he'd sent them to hunt down the enchantress.

And now here she was, within his grasp. They could capture her and collect their reward. Only Sanzo wasn't there, damn it. He needed to stall, to get closer.

"I would never want to see a lady come to harm, but I had no intention of killing a man." Gojyo carefully grasped her extended hand. "I thank you for the offer of service, but must decline. Be safe on your way."

He needed to be closer to ensure he could restrain her, and so he stepped forward and leaned in as if to kiss her hand, intending to grab with his free hand. But as he leaned toward her, two drops of blood fell from his wounded cheek; one onto the cuff of her sleeve, and the other onto the flawless skin of her hand.

The moment his blood touched her skin, it began to hiss and smoke, and she screamed and wrenched her hand away. She looked at her hand, and then back at him with a furious gaze.

"How dare you befoul me!" She pointed at him. "Let this disfigurement be reflected upon you!"

A wretched pain flashed upon him. His wound deepened and multiplied by three. His eyes turned to the color of the blood he had spilled, and the tips of his ears to the points of his teeth sharpened to the likes of a demon.

He writhed and groaned and clawed at his flesh, and some of the people, fearing the monster they'd never before seen, begged for mercy.

"He is a stranger to our town!" "He'll devour us with his sharp teeth!" "Take him away, Lady, please!"

The enchantress watched for a moment and then waved at two of her servants. "Remove him from my sight! Leave him somewhere that he may reflect upon his misdeed."

The servants caught him up in a sack of burlap, took him out to sea, and abandoned him on an island to be forgotten.


	2. Chapter 2

Sanzo followed the road as it twisted and turned up the hill. He'd left behind the market area and entered an area lined with tiny homes, their lines of laundry fluttering in the constant breeze from off the coast. He approached a man carrying a cord of wood. The man saw him, looked away, and quickened his steps toward his home. The door slammed behind him.

Sanzo scowled. So they weren't stranger friendly. He made his way back down the hill, and took an intersecting street that narrowed to the width of two people yet still managed to have crowded doorways. He cursed under his breath at the elbow to elbow jostling, and then swore loudly when a surge pushed everyone against each other. And then he heard the frantic gossip.

"Take shelter," a man whispered loudly, as doors slammed along the street.

"Lady Gyokumen is here!" shouted a woman running in his direction.

"No, she's already gone away! She came and saved us from a monster!"

"She's here!" Someone else cheered from behind and several people ran in the direction he'd been traveling.

Sanzo dashed after them, close on their heels to avoid the throng of people hurrying the opposite direction. They moved through several narrow streets, and he could hear all around, those who demanded to know Gyokumen's whereabouts, and others muttering curses and wards of safety, proving the town was divided as to their allegiance to Gyokumen.

He briefly wondered if Gojyo had found her himself or if he was racing to the same location, and then they all spilled forth into an area someone had called the port plaza. There was no sign of Lady Gyokumen and the people he'd run with bemoaned her absence and dispersed.

Sanzo ignored them, quickly assessing the scene. One man had a bucket of water he'd splashed on the ground over a muddy spot that looked like blood. And then a small group of men separated and he saw they lifted a weighted litter.

Sanzo felt his stomach clench with unease and he jogged up to block their way. The body was covered completely.

"Move it!" The litter carrier stepped toward Sanzo.

Sanzo stood firm. "I arrived with another man. Show me who you have there."

The other carrier flipped back the blanket to show the face and slit throat of an unfamiliar face. "Know him?"

Sanzo stared and then let a breath out and shook his head. "No. My -," he'd been about to say friend, and he hesitated. "He's tall, red-haired." And then in a fit of agitation added, "A foolhardy idiot."

The two men looked at each other, and the one answered again. "He was here. Lady Gyokumen turned him into a sharp-toothed devil and cast him away." The man shook his head. "You won't likely find him again."

"Then where can I find Gyokumen?"

They shrugged. "She's a witch who doesn't care to be found. She comes to us."

Sanzo grit his teeth and then stepped aside and let them pass. He glared at the people moving about the plaza, some of them giving him open looks of curiosity, and others, quick furtive glances.

"Tch!" Sanzo was done with discretion. He pulled out his coin purse and removed a handful of gold and silver coins and tossed a piece of gold on the ground. "I'll pay well, anyone who can lead me to Lady Gyokumen," he announced.

The townsfolk stopped and watched. Sanzo threw down a silver piece, and then another gold, and still another, watching as they murmured amongst themselves. Sanzo sneered at their cowardice and upturned the pouch onto the ground.

"Gah!" A young voice came from behind him and a boy darted close to kneel at his feet and scoop up the coins.

"This will buy so much food!"

Sanzo reached down and stayed his hand. "But can you help?"

The boy looked up through a tousled head of dark hair, his eyes wide. "Uhm...I think so!" He blinked and smiled.

Sanzo took a breath and carefully breathed out his initial anger. "If you're sure, then say so. But I'll not play childish games."

The boy looked over his shoulder and Sanzo followed his gaze but saw nothing of import. The boy looked back at Sanzo, his fingers wriggled under Sanzo's own as he grasped again for the coins.

"I'm sure!"

Sanzo let go and the boy scooped up the coins and stood, clutching them to his chest. "I'm Goku! Can we buy food first? And then I'll take you there. What's your name?"

"Sanzo." He held out the empty pouch. "Put the coins back in and hold it tightly." He waited as Goku did just that, and then followed Goku to a meat stall where he ordered enough food for four people. Sanzo reluctantly helped him carry it as he followed Goku from the port plaza, back up the hill.

They stopped in front of a tailor's shop and Goku flew up the stoop and gestured Sanzo inside. He took the food from Sanzo, spread it across a counter, and started to eat ravenously.

While Goku gorged on the food, Sanzo looked around the shop, taking little note of the fabric bolts and thread spools that lined the walls. He peered up a stairwell to a dark landing, and moved on, flipping aside a curtained partition that revealed another work counter and a large loom, but no one else. He stopped at the counter and leaned against it.

"You have parents? An employer? Any adults?"

"That would be me."

Sanzo turned around.

A tall, dark-haired man closed the entry door as silently as he'd opened it. He carried a bag that he set on the counter beside Goku's meal. He gave Sanzo a brief up and down examination, noting Sanzo's clothes and weapons, and his eyes narrowed.

"You look like a mercenary. Are you?" He slowly placed himself in front of Goku.

Sanzo sensed the danger immediately, recognizing the actions of a man who was probably being hunted and thought himself about to be captured. He held his relaxed position.

"I am. And though you move as if to attack or protect, I assure you I have no interest in either of you or your guilt." Sanzo straightened and took a step back to give himself room to maneuver. "Unless you're aligned with the enchantress, Lady Gyokumen. It's her I'm looking for."

There was a long moment where they sized each other up and then the man nodded.

"I think I see. I heard there was a stranger in town this morning who found himself in Lady Gyokumen's bad graces. You must be his companion." He folded his hands together. "But I don't understand why you would be at my shop? I am a tailor and tapestry weaver." He paused. "Well, of course, I could sew you something..." He trailed off and raised an eyebrow in question.

Sanzo detected the hint of sarcasm and ignored it. "Goku suggested that either he, or you, could tell me how to find her."

"Sanzo gave me all this!" Goku pointed at the food and then pulled out the pouch and spilled it onto the counter. "And this! If we could help!"

"Goku! Return his gold to him."

"But Hakkai. He said -"

"Now, Goku." He turned to Sanzo. "I'm not sure how we could help. No one knows where Lady Gyokumen resides. She comes into town once a month or so to purchase her supplies. She was in this very shop a few weeks ago..." Hakkai stopped, his eyes wide. And then a tiny smile curved his mouth. "And she'll be returning to pick up her order."

Sanzo felt a rush of relief that he wouldn't have to waste time searching for her. "Tomorrow?"

"Ah, no." Hakkai laughed uncomfortably. "Just over a month."

"Tch! That's unacceptable." Sanzo strode over to the door and glared out the small window. The king's orders were for he and Gojyo to catch and return Lady Gyokumen. Gojyo's presence wasn't necessary to catch her, but he couldn't just catch Gyokumen and leave without knowing what happened to Gojyo.

He'd initially disliked the man and his unrestrained friendliness. But after the weeks of bickering and enduring each other's company, it became an almost comfortable routine. And he couldn't deny that Gojyo's flirtatious teasing had been the cause for his own more carnal thoughts. He'd started to wish Gojyo would put action behind his words, because Sanzo could never tell when the man was serious or not.

Gojyo had finally put to rest any doubts about his intentions, and he'd done so with a focused intensity Sanzo hadn't thought him capable of. His casual, jesting demeanor had been shed as quickly as his clothes. That first night had left them both content and contemplative, and subsequent intimacy had revealed that they both labored under differing masks of self-preservation; Gojyo laughed away his troubles, while Sanzo actively scorned his own. It made for a delicate balance, as Gojyo still annoyed him at times, but their being together met some fundamental need they couldn't put into words. If something had happened to Gojyo...the earlier feeling of dismay returned.

"The man with me - Gojyo. Do you think she took him with her?" Sanzo looked over his shoulder when there was only silence.

Hakkai shrugged. "All those who've been cursed that I know of, have been left to live out their curse. I suppose there have been some who've died. She seems to enjoy their suffering." And then he added, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Better honesty than platitudes." Sanzo returned to the counter and lifted up the pouch Goku had refilled. He removed a few coins and lay them on the counter. "Thank you for the information. I'll find an inn and start scouting for information. If you hear anything else while -"

"You could stay here. Right, Hakkai?" Goku sent a questioning look to Hakkai and then turned and smiled at Sanzo. "This used to be a tavern and an inn, and there's plenty of rooms upstairs."

"Ah, well..."

Sanzo held up the coin purse. "Payment is not an issue. But if it would inconvenience you..."

Hakkai shook his head and then smiled. "No. I don't think it would be an inconvenience. It might even be interesting." He moved to the stairs and motioned at Sanzo to follow. "I've tried to avoid interfering in other's business as it can lead to some dreadful surprises, but perhaps it's time I again set aside those concerns."

He opened one of the many doors on the landing. "You can use this room. I'll have Goku clean it up." He turned and faced Sanzo. "I do hope you find your friend right away. But if not, at least you know Gyokumen is returning here, and then perhaps you can get your answers."

Sanzo only nodded. He slipped past Hakkai and dropped his sack of travel necessities beside the bed. He could feel Hakkai's presence still in the doorway. "I'll be back this evening. I'll ask around, find out where she resides. And maybe I'll find him, too."


	3. Chapter 3

When the pain and weakness ceased and Gojyo's strength returned, it was morning. On the wavering grey horizon, miles and miles away, he thought he could make out the shapes of civilization.

Anger welled up within him and he scooped up a fistful of wet sand and hurled it toward the town. "You bitch!" The words scraped his throat and he swallowed another shout. "Damn you hateful, vile woman," he muttered. He walked up the shore to the edge of a thin forest and rested there a moment.

As a past laborer and current mercenary, Gojyo was familiar with the basics of outdoor living; never his preferred method, but he was glad to have learned it. He'd been left his dagger and his leather sack that carried travelling necessities; a whetstone, string and hook, salve for scrapes, a pouch of flint, a flask. There was also a bit of bread and dried meat that wouldn't last long.

He ate a quick meal of jerky, and afterward, he set to work on gathering dead wood and all the vines he could find. He fashioned a raft, but the vines were weak and broke easily when bent or braided, and the raft fell apart.

Undeterred, Gojyo pushed some of the wood in the water, and finding one that best floated, rested his arms and chest over it. He kicked away from the island and began his journey back to the mainland. He'd paddled for a few minutes when something bumped his hip and dragged along his leg and disappeared.

"What the hell?" He bobbed in place, knees pulled to his chest as he scanned the water. His log lifted on one end and a shiny grey coil of flesh undulated up and back beneath the surface.

"Shit!" He made a frantic effort to climb onto the log, but it rolled uselessly. The thick body emerged again from the water several feet away, but an open mouth of sharp teeth emerged directly before him. Gojyo swore, shoved the log towards the mouth, and turned himself and made haste to shore.

A few seabirds scattered as he threw himself onto the beach. He looked back and in the water saw only splintered wood. He climbed to his feet and kicked the sand. "A damned sea serpent!" He paced in a circle, frustrated and angry, and then stopped and looked up and down the stretch of what was now his island.

"Tch. Fine. So this is my home for now." He gave another kick to the sand and made a rude gesture toward the water and turned and trod back up the beach.

A walk around the island took half a day, if one didn't count the climb over the tall rocky part. It was there that he came across a small, white dragon. He'd at first thought he'd found a misshapen bird, and even then wasn't certain as its body was long and its wings buckled and blackened. But when he reached to touch it, the head whipped around, red eyes rolling, and it snapped jaws of needle-sharp teeth.

"Whoa!" He snatched his hand away and stepped back. The creature pushed on its legs and flopped toward him. As the wings lifted, Gojyo could see a taut underbelly suggesting it hadn't eaten in quite some time. He watched it a moment as it struggled and flapped about, and considered leaving it. But despite looking near death, the eyes were still bright. And if it was a dragon - he'd never seen one, but it kind of looked like some of the stories - they were supposed to be intelligent.

"And bigger," he said aloud. "Huh." Gojyo tried again. "If you're a dragon, you're very small. I hear dragons are smart, too. Would you prove that wrong if I told you I were trying to help?"

The dragon lay very still, its red eyes sharp and focused.

"Right. Well, I'll just lift you up and take you back to, eh, my beach." He reached out again. "Careful. Easy." His fingers slid underneath a belly soft with fur and scale, and he moved to lay his other hand on top for balance.

The dragon turned its head toward him. Gojyo stopped. "Nice dragon. Just going to - ow! Shit!" He jerked away but the dragon's jaw held tight. Gojyo had the momentary sensation that he was falling, thought he saw a flash of lightning, and the dragon let go.

He grabbed his bitten finger and applied pressure to the spots of blood. "You little bastard! That hurt!" He glared at the dragon. "Yeah. I get it. Bad storm, and you landed here. But you'd better damn well learn to talk because you aren't pulling that trick again!" He stood up. "I oughta leave you right there." He swore again and stomped a few steps away to suck on his finger. He spat out the blood and turned around to look at the dragon looking pathetically at him.

"Tch. I'm a fool," he muttered under his breath. He removed his shirt and lay it in front of the dragon. "Get in there yourself, and I'll carry you." When the dragon finally pulled itself over the cloth, Gojyo grabbed the sleeves and carried the dragon dangling from the makeshift sling.

They made their way around the rest of the island. The forest was a patchwork of mixed conifers edged with bamboo and palm, and an old tree heavy with an unfamiliar fruit; a careful taste test revealed it edible. What he'd not found was a viable water source. There were mouthfuls in tree hollows, and in the rocks, but it wasn't enough to survive on.

He returned to where he'd landed and set the dragon down under the treeline. He sipped a bit of water from his flask, and set a capful of water near the dragon, and then he backtracked to the fruit tree and gathered pocketfuls of fruit and hoping the liquid would be enough. Besides the fruit, the only other nourishment would be fish and crabs he could catch; and the smallest ones he'd use as bait to catch a bigger meal.

He decided a shelter was in order, and used fallen bamboo and pine, digging and driving it into the ground with his hands, some large shells for digging, and a small blade. The process took several days.

The dragon watched, and he shared with it his water and his meals. He told the dragon how he'd come to be on the island, and about the serpent in the sea. He told him about meeting other fantastical creatures, but that this was his first dragon. And he complained.

"Why couldn't you have been a really big dragon? Big enough to fly us both off this island?"

The dragon snorted.

"Or a fat dragon, so we could just float to the mainland?"

The dragon made a disagreeable noise and nibbled one of his blackened wings.

"Right." Gojyo waved at him. "Sea monsters. Why don't you come up with an idea?"

The dragon stood, dipped its head down to its foot, and with a toenail, carefully plucked out its eye, and held it out as clean as a marble.

"Hey! No!" Gojyo held up his hands to grab the dragon and hesitated. "Shit! How can you do that!" He looked at the eye and then back at the dragon's empty eye socket. It was pale pink and waxy looking, and without a sign of tissue damage.

"Put it back! What am I going to do with an extra eye?"

From the dragon came the image of the eye sparkling in the sun.

"Yeah, it's shiny. But -" Gojyo hesitated again and then took the eye. It was very much like a marble, and he held it up to his own eye and looked through it. He could see the ocean and sky and when he looked down, he could still see the dragon. There didn't seem to be anything magical about it other than it wasn't a normal eye.

Gojyo sighed. "I understand I asked for an idea, but I don't think this is going to help. Here. Put that back."

The dragon seemed to shrug, and craned its long neck toward Gojyo and blinked.

Gojyo unhappily pushed the eye back into the socket.

More time passed and the dragon occasionally chirped, squawked, or growled, but otherwise didn't communicate, though Gojyo thought he'd once been shown an image of a big fish, in response to a few minnows he'd offered.

"You want a big fish? We're eating the same thing! Go catch a big one yourself!" He was certain that the dragon gave him a churlish look. It made him think of Sanzo, and he felt a pang of distress which he quickly brushed away.

When the shelter was finished, he had a roof and four walls and a doorway, though no door, And he had a place to put the other things he'd made or found. The cove on his part of the beach tended to catch what the tide brought in. Within two weeks he'd recovered a floating bowl, and glass bottles and a jug to catch drinkable water, useful because, he was grateful to learn, that rain showers passed over every few days.

The third week, a mucky blanket floated into the cove, and once dried and relieved of its mollusk passengers, proved comfortable enough. And, Gojyo noted, the dragon seemed to think so, too; stealing it away while Gojyo slept, and sleeping on it during the day while Gojyo fished or searched the horizon for signs of rescue.

The fourth week, there was a naked body, decomposed so as to be unidentifiable.

Gojyo watched it float on the current until it washed up on the sand. He didn't think much of the body at first. But after a long time sitting beside it, wondering where it'd come from, it occurred to him that Sanzo might have met a fate even worse than his own. The shock made him sick.

In the passing weeks, he'd watched for boats, thought about how to get off the island, about Gyokumen, and especially about Sanzo.

He'd been certain that Sanzo was still alive, probably still hunting Gyokumen. And there'd been a tiny part of him that wanted to believe that Sanzo might look for him after he'd caught the enchantress himself. Gojyo didn't have anyone else who would be looking for him. He'd been sold into servitude when he was young enough to not remember his family, and taken far away. He only knew masters, and none were worthy of being called friend or family. So he'd escaped a life of servitude to become a mercenary. And though he'd known many acquaintances and informants, that type of life and work didn't earn a man friends.

He'd spent more time with Sanzo than he'd spent with anyone in a long time. And though he questioned the feeling of attachment to the man, he genuinely liked him. He could be unsociable and brusque, but Gojyo had seen less of that attitude the longer they'd travelled together. The man was trustworthy and honest, and smart, and Gojyo had begun to believe there might be a heart under that deceptively cool attitude.

He'd been certain Sanzo was smart enough to outwit the witch. But things could go wrong for anyone - like a king's queen turned to stone, or a huntsman outwitted by his hunt.

But nearly a month was past. Finding the body brought all his thoughts into sharp perspective and smashed any illusions he'd had of a quick rescue, or that Sanzo was even looking for him; there was no one else who would notice he was missing. And perchance some poor fisherman happened upon him, he wasn't certain they'd be willing to help. He'd only caught glimpses of his reflection in low tide, but the pointed ears, sharp teeth, and what felt like two bumps atop his head that he'd begun to fear were horns, would probably give any sane man hesitation.

He looked at the body again. "I hope you're missed." He stood up and hesitated before reaching down and lifting it up. He gagged when the water-logged flesh tore open, and tried to breathe past the stench released. "I'm no man of the cloth, but I'll try to make it right."

He buried the body on the other side of the island, and then scrubbed himself thoroughly in the ocean. He returned to the shelter, wet and naked, and threw down his sodden clothes and sat upon them, to another dinner of fruit and fish. The dragon dragged the blanket out and curled up beside him, and they watched the waves roll in and out.


	4. Chapter 4

Sanzo was appreciative that he had a safe place to return to each night. But returning empty-handed and no closer to finding Gojyo, or Gyokumen, left him frustrated and sullen. He'd had to apologize more than he cared for being rude to Hakkai or Goku, or both.

They took it in stride. Goku seemed perpetually cheerful. When he wasn't assisting Hakkai, he wanted to assist Sanzo by tagging along, or trying to ferret out information from neighborhood children. Goku had returned with wild stories about wooded paths turned on themselves and a variety of creatures.

Sanzo investigated the woods. One footpath did in fact seem to turn him around, and when he couldn't figure it out, he moved on to the other trails leading to streambeds and meadows. He also crossed paths with some of the creatures rarely seen near the king's kingdom; a few gnomes, a tree nymph, and a sprite that promised to show him where the enchantress lived, if Sanzo would just follow it into the water. Sanzo threatened the sprite, but it was the sharp caw of an unseen bird that frightened the thing away.

Hakkai had tried getting information from the other shopkeepers he knew, and from those visiting his shops, only to end up with more rumours and improbable tales; Lady Gyokumen was a goddess, a troll, the queen's sister, the king's mistress, and she lived in the clouds or under the earth.

Sanzo was coming to realize he might indeed have to wait until Gyokumen returned to the shop. He sat at the large work table Hakkai used for cutting fabrics and eating meals, and browsed the local periodical. The drizzling rain outside made for a quiet day inside; a time that Hakkai relished to get caught up on extra work. From the back room came the sounds of Goku steadily working the loom.

He finally pushed aside the paper and slouched onto the counter. "Waiting ten more days is torture," muttered Sanzo. "What did Gyokumen order anyway that would take so long for you to create?"

"It's already finished, but I like to add time in case a problem occurs." Hakkai didn't look up from his measuring. "She ordered a robe." He paused and set down the tape. "It's woven with her own blood, and, I'm sorry to say, it will help her focus her magic."

Sanzo gave him an incredulous look. "And you were going to mention this when?" He kicked off the stool and stood. "Where is it? Can you withhold it from her?"

"No, actually, I can't. The magic doesn't allow it."

Sanzo frowned. "Explain yourself."

Hakkai sighed. "I came into possession of a sewing needle and loom, both infused with magic. The loom nearly runs itself - Goku merely replaces the materials needed and ensures they don't tangle. And a pinprick of the needle collects a drop of blood. The needle will sew in the necessary magic - I don't know how it makes the choices, it's magic after all." He moved round the table and went to the shelves behind the counter and removed a garment. "But, I can tell you there are repercussions for certain types of magic. Innocent magic begets innocent results." He let the garment unfurl to reveal a brocade robe. "And dark hearts reap what they sow - or sew, as the case may be." He smiled with mirth, and then he sighed again. "Regardless of the power this robe might assist her with, all magical items have some inherent weakness. "

Sanzo had followed him and now he reached out and handled the material. It was finely made with delicate trim and tiny beaded embellishments. He could feel an undercurrent of power.

"How can you discern the weakness?" He turned the robe around and stared at the back where tiny pictographs were embroidered in a spiral; creatures that were half-animal and half-human, a burning village, a blackbird, and trees with faces. They spiraled inward, growing larger, seeming to end with her most recent deeds; an ox-headed man with a crown, who stood by his queen of petrified stone. At their feet was the small caricature of a red-haired form riding an ox.

"Well, there's no definitive way. I've made several robes over the years, for wizards, druids, even royalty. Some are intricate, and others quite austere." He laid the robe across the counter. "But sometimes, I think - well, it's speculation, of course - I used to think the needle just traced their past deeds. But I often now imagine the images in particular are a warning to the wearer. To beware of those things."

"Or the answer for those wishing to conquer them?" Sanzo thumbed the fabric again. "Why would you create the sorts of things that could empower something evil?"

Hakkai frowned and stood taller. "Because I believe what I said. Their retribution is woven within."

"You think you're punishing them?"

"I'm certain of it." Hakkai's voice was low and sharp as a blade.

Sanzo saw the again, a hint of the danger he'd seen when they'd first met. "Hn. And that's why you can't keep it. Would it recoil upon you?"

Hakkai smiled thinly. "I'd rather not find out."

Sanzo studied him thoughtfully for a moment. "What if I took the robe from you? Would that affect you?"

Hakkai looked surprised. "I don't know. No one's stolen any magical garments before. And if any have been stolen from their owners, I don't think I've had any ill effects." He picked up the robe and carefully folded it and lay it back on the shelf. "Regardless, I don't think that's a sound plan of action. She would certainly curse me when she arrives and finds it missing."

Sanzo nodded. "Hm. Then I'll take your place when she arrives and tell her you're unavailable. She shouldn't have cause to know that I'm after her."

"I don't care for that idea either. But I do agree, a plan is needed."

* * *

Lady Gyokumen arrived on a bright morning, entering the shop with four of her servants, and an insincere smile.

"You assured me it would be ready. Is it so?"

Hakkai gave a curt nod. "Of course." He stood and gave Goku a push to return to the back of the shop where Sanzo had posted himself to lay in wait from behind the curtained partition.

He watched as Hakkai gathered up the garment and walked around the counter to Gyokumen.

"I'll just need to check the fit," Hakkai said, and let the robe unfurl as he reached for her.

"Stay back," she snapped. "I've already dealt with one miserable fool in this town soiling my person." She held out her hand, and Hakki hesitated. "Come now!"

Sanzo swore silently when Hakkai passed it to her, and he unsheathed his short sword. They hadn't come up with a plan they all agreed could work. Hakkai had felt sure that he could get close enough to seize and bind her arms while Sanzo and Goku disposed of the servants. But now, Sanzo was decided that he would grab the first opening he saw to catch her.

Gyokumen fondled the fabric and made a pleased sound. She examined the seams and trim, and seemingly satisfied she turned it around and looked at the scene on the back. She gasped and her eyes narrowed. Her fingers balled the fabric in her fists and she swung toward Hakkai

"How dare you. What do you mean presenting this!" She slammed her fists on the counter. "You think to play some prank? I'm not amused!"

Hakkai kept a calm gaze. "To know your strength, your wisdom, and your virtue, is to know your weakness, foolishness, and your villainy."

Her eyes grew huge with anger as she drew a deep breath and she screamed wordlessly.

"You! You could have passed on that information, and you chose not to! And now you mock me with cryptic lessons?" .

At Sanzo's side, Goku gasped. "She's gonna curse him!" And he raced through the curtains before Sanzo could grab him.

"Stop!" Goku ran at the servants, kicked one, dove under another, and leaped toward Gyokumen. A servant jumped between them, a dagger in hand.

"Goku!" Hakkai yelled and rushed to aid him.

Gyokumen gave a short wicked laugh. "Agile as a monkey you are!" She waved a hand and instantly Goku began to change, a thin layer of fur sprouting across his skin. And then she wheeled around to the door.

"Shit." Sanzo followed. He stabbed a servant in his way, shoved aside the crumpling figure and raced after Gyokumen. He caught her at the door, snatching her collar and jerking so hard he spun her around to sprawl onto the floor.

Sanzo leaped onto her, pinning her with his weight. He pressed his blade to her neck. "Quiet! Or I'll open your throat." He pressed harder. "Understand?"

Her eyes narrowed to slits as she gave a tiny nod.

Sanzo was peripherally aware of Hakkai and Goku still fighting, but didn't dare risk looking away from her to make sure.

"Where's the red-haired fool you cursed a month ago?"

A slight widening of her eyes told Sanzo she remembered, and then she smirked.

"No magic tricks. Just -" From the corner of his eye, he saw a body falling toward him. He flung up his arm to block, but the weight knocked him aside and he scrambled to regain his advantage.

He felt, more than heard, the thunderous spell Gyokumen shouted, and suddenly he was thrown across the room to hit the far wall. He slid down and collapsed. Stars swam through his vision as he tried to lift his head, but he could only manage to turn it.

He could see Hakkai and Goku lying nearby; Hakkai moaning and holding his head, and Goku lying very still. Further away, lay the servant he'd stabbed, the hood fallen away to reveal the green mottled skin and pinched face of a goblin.

Slippered feet stepped into his line of vision. "You threatened my life." Gyokumen's cool voice came from far above. "And you've killed someone important to me."

She crouched down where Sanzo could see her face, and below that, a thin line of red and trickle of blood where his blade had nicked her throat.

His head throbbed and he swallowed the pain back and breathed out. "You're hunted, because you destroy lives." He felt at his hip for his short sword and remembered he'd dropped it.

She made a small sound of disapproval. "I'm kind to those who are devoted to me. Only those who cross me earn my wrath. Such as you." She reached up to her throat and drew her finger across the stripe of blood and then ran her bloodied finger under his jaw. "Your life for his life."

He reached up to stop her, but his movements were still slow and she'd already pulled away.

"Even now, I am kind. You will see your friend...in time to say farewell." She stood. "Remove him."

Sanzo attempted to move again, but was too late to avoid a foot aimed at his head.


	5. Chapter 5

Gojyo's days were unchanged by his revelation. After a few days feeling despondent, he picked back up and continued doing what he'd been doing - fishing, gathering fruit, and watching for boats on the water. Until a big fish caught his line, broke it and swam away with his hook. He raged at the escaped fish for hours, and then thanked his luck that it hadn't happened sooner.

He had multiple strings of fish and fruit drying on sticks and vines, good for a succession of rainy days, or when he didn't catch anything. But even that had to be replenished. So he grabbed more vines and practiced making a net. Over the next few days, he found if he tied his shirt inside part of the net, he could catch more of the little fish, but food still felt more scarce, because netting fish in the waves took so much longer.

He pulled up his net, looked inside and groaned when he saw just four minnows. He scooped them out, slipped them into his pocket and leaned back to stretch, casting his eyes across the bright afternoon horizon.

Gojyo stilled, disbelieving what he'd seen as the object vanished in the rolling currents. And then the waves dipped and there it was again in the distance.

"A boat. It's a boat. Hah!" He watched for a moment. Would they be too far away to see him? He ran up the shore out of the water and to his shelter.

The dragon lay in a hollow of sand sunning himself and he raised his sleepy head.

"It's a boat!" Gojyo pointed, and when the dragon seemed unimpressed, Gojyo threw his hands in the air. "Tch! I'll let you know when it gets here." But the dragon's temperament had cooled his excitement. He threw down his net and pulled out his shirt and wrung the water from it.

He'd already decided he'd have to cover his head if he didn't want to scare anyone, and so he wrapped the shirt around his ears and head and tied back the sleeves while he walked back down to the shoreline.

The boat was already closer and he could see there were two figures paddling along. The shapes weren't right and he lifted a hand over his eyes, squinted against the sun, and could make out hooded silhouettes. He thought of Gyokumen's servants. They couldn't possibly be returning for him to take him back; had probably returned to dispose of him. He felt for the dagger strapped to his hip. He'd kill them and take the boat.

Anger washed over him, and then confusion. They were so very close now, still in the deep water, and they pulled in their oars and set to work at something at their feet.

"Hey!" Gojyo yelled. "C'mon! Scared of me?"

One turned their head to look at him and then returned to their task.

"Bastards." Gojyo ran into the water and swam for the boat. He'd pull them out. He'd tip the boat over. Anything to get to them and what he needed to leave the island.

He was several yards from the boat, swimming strong, when he looked up to see they'd hauled a man up to his knees. A blond-haired man, bound and struggling against the hands grasping him.

Gojyo stopped swimming for a second, shocked as he recognized Sanzo, and then he swam onward.

He reached for the side of the boat when they suddenly pushed Sanzo over the side and nearly on top of him. Gojyo barely gave it a thought, he was so focused on the boat. He grabbed the side again, had both hands on it and he lifted himself and hauled his weight down to tip it over.

They shouted, and he came out of the water again and grabbed for anything within reach. He caught an arm and pulled, and an oar came down on his head.

"Shit!" He blocked with is arm and the oar came down again, and then the other oar intercepted and rammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him and pushing him away. He swam after them, but within just a few strokes, they were already gaining distance.

"Bastards!" Gojyo floated in place. "You -" A cough and gasp sounded behind him and Gojyo spun around.

Sanzo's head disappeared under the water.

"Sanzo!" Gojyo quickly swam over and caught Sanzo as he came up again. He pulled Sanzo's back to his chest and worked at keeping them both afloat while Sanzo coughed and gasped.

"I got you. Breathe easy." Gojyo swam on his back as best he could. Swimming wasn't his greatest ability, and every few strokes they'd sink a little. "Can you swim? We're almost there."

"Tied," Sanzo said, and raised his bound hands above the water.

The sound of the waves quickly came up on them. Gojyo found his footing, looped both of his arms under Sanzo's and hauled Sanzo up the shore and set him down. He unfastened his dagger and kneeled at Sanzo's feet to cut away the ropes. Sanzo coughed again and groaned as he sat up.

Gojyo sawed at the ropes, swearing softly. "Those bastards! If I could have just gotten that boat. If they'd been a little closer to shore maybe -"

The sudden sounds of screams carried across the water and Gojyo swung around to look. The boatmen smacked their paddles over the water's surface, and then began to paddle frantically. The telltale coils of a sea serpent reappeared just behind them and the monster lifted its head from the water, it's jaws extended and nearly as wide as the small boat, and it chomped down. There was the sharp crack of wood, and more screams that suddenly cut off as they fell into the water. A raised hand quickly disappeared under the waves, and a moment later, the figure swimming toward shore disappeared.

Gojyo returned to the ropes. "That damned thing nearly ate me when I tried to swim out of here. Hold out your hands." He pulled the rope taut between the wrists, cut through them and tossed the coil aside. "I pronounce you a free man. Heh!"

He looked up and grinned, but it quickly faded as Sanzo drew back from him, eyes wide with shock.

"Ah." Gojyo ducked his head down and tilted his face away. "Yeah. Forgot you haven't seen me in awhile." He looked back up and smiled half-heartedly. "I didn't think it was that bad, though."

Sanzo frowned and reached out, his fingers firm but careful as he took Gojyo's face in his hand and turned it.

Gojyo watched his gaze crossing over both sides of his face, and then remembered his shirt. "Eh, that's not all of it." He reached up and pulled the makeshift kerchief from his head to reveal his ears, and hoped the impish horns weren't noticeable.

Sanzo did notice, though, and after taking in the rest of it, reached up and lay his hand on top of Gojyo's head and then drew it back.

"What did you do?"

Gojyo blinked. "What?"

Sanzo gestured at him, and then pulled himself to his feet to look around the island. "What did you do to Gyokumen that she cursed you?"

Gojyo stood up beside him. "I didn't do a damn thing! I rescued that witch and she cursed me because I dripped a little blood on her!"

"You rescued her?"

"I didn't know it was her until after, and then I tried to catch her."

Sanzo eyed his face again and Gojyo pointed at his own cheek. "The ox gored my face. She didn't do that part of it - well, maybe made it a little worse."

"Unless you have a mirror, you haven't seen just what she's done. Hn. Maybe you're better for it." He pointed to Gojyo's shelter and started walking in that direction. "You have food somewhere here? I haven't eaten since dinner."

"Tch. Yeah, well it's good to see you, too! Glad you're all right! Help yourself!" Gojyo stared after him a moment and then leaned down to grab the rope and followed him.

Sanzo was examining the shelter, testing the strength of the frame, and taking in Gojyo's set up.

Gojyo threw the rope down by the wall. "Too bad they didn't use more rope to tie you up."

"Don't be an ass."

"No! I mean I could use more to make a net! Fish stole my hook." Gojyo pointed at the dried fish. "What you see is all we have." He remembered the fish in his pocket, pulled them out and walked around the corner to toss them to the dragon. "And we're feeding three."

Sanzo came up behind him. "What the hell is that?"

Gojyo shrugged. "A dragon?"

Sanzo looked from the dragon back to him. "I'd argue whether that's a dragon, but at this point it doesn't matter. If that's all your food, we're in trouble."

"Well, I was hoping for a rescue, not more guests. But since you're here, you can help catch fish."

Sanzo snorted. "You'll make a bad host if you make your guests work for you."

Gojyo smirked. "I'm a better entertainer than host." He picked up his makeshift net, and waved at Sanzo to follow him back out to the water. "So, what have you been doing all this time?"

Sanzo explained what happened in his cursory way while they worked with the net. Gojyo found it was easier to have Sanzo hold an end while they'd walk through the water and lift. Before evening, they'd come up with a fair catch, and Gojyo carried it up to the shelter.

Once Sanzo had explained he thought he'd received a death wish, possibly poisoned in some way, Gojyo had kept a sharper eye on him. He'd thought Sanzo might be unsteady on his feet, but couldn't be sure since the waves could have been cause of any misstep. Once they'd returned to the shelter though, Sanzo had sat down hard in the sand and leaned his head back against the wall.

Gojyo watched him from the corner of his eyes as he threw a fish to the dragon. He set aside three more for his and Sanzo's meal, and worked at stringing the other tiny fish. He could no longer afford to toss them all to the dragon.

Gojyo gutted the fish and made the fire. Sanzo didn't move from his spot as he drank occasionally from the bottle of rainwater Gojyo had given him. Gojyo handed him one of the fish and Sanzo shook his head.

"Whatever she did, I'm feeling it. I can't eat that." He rubbed his face and gave Gojyo a bleary look and then closed his eyes.

Gojyo frowned. He sat down against the wall beside Sanzo and ate the fish, and worried. He looked over at the dragon who was watching them both, and he offered the last few bites to him.

The dragon made a cooing noise, and as before, like a flash of memory, Gojyo could see the dragon was giving up the blanket; which was good, because Gojyo had already planned to take it.

"He'll appreciate that." Gojyo said.

The dragon puffed up a bit and shook himself, and then bobbed his head for more food. Gojyo relented and gave him the last cooked fish.

He looked back over to check on Sanzo and found Sanzo watching him.

"Eh, I'm not crazy. We kind of talk sometimes." Gojyo shrugged.

"No. I saw it." Sanzo sat up, groaned, and held his head. "Saw what the dragon said, I mean. Damn I feel like shit."

"You did? But then..." Gojyo looked from Sanzo to the dragon. "You bit me! I thought you bit me for a reason, you little rat!"

The dragon was suspiciously quiet, but Gojyo saw his eyes flicker over to Sanzo. "Hey!" Gojyo turned to Sanzo. "Is he still talking to you?"

"Stop yelling. He said you're scary."

"What? It's not that bad! Do you think I'm scary, too?"

"No. I think you're stupid. Damn it! I need to lie down." Sanzo tipped himself onto hands and knees and tried to get a leg under himself.

Gojyo grabbed him before he fell over. "Hey. Sorry, sorry. You're right. That's stupid shit to worry about right now. Come on."

He helped Sanzo inside the shelter and arranged the blanket so Sanzo could lie on it and fold the other half over himself. He crouched down beside him and lay a hand over Sanzo's forehead.

"You don't have a fever."

Sanzo mumbled from under the confines of the blanket. "It's poison, idiot. Not plague."

"Tch. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen. And you feel well enough to keep calling me names."

"Because I'm sick enough to have none of my usual patience."

"You've never had any patience."

"Been working on it." Sanzo sighed. "Since you insist on testing it."

Gojyo considered that a moment, and couldn't help the slow smile, because that sounded like Sanzo was trying to be nicer. "Heh. I guess if you're trying to be less of an ass, I could ease up on teasing you."

"Hn. I knew it."

Gojyo frowned again. "What are we going to do?"

Sanzo was quiet for a long moment. "Find a cure. Maybe some plant on this island."

Gojyo nodded. "Yeah. Damn." He kept himself from saying aloud that he could also accidentally poison Sanzo and kill him faster.

He watched Sanzo until it sounded as if he were asleep and then stood to go put out the fire.

The dragon sat in the doorway, but moved and followed Gojyo. He chirped.

"I don't know what to do," Gojyo admitted, and stirred the fire instead of putting it out. "Haven't been able to save myself from this place." He looked at the dragon. "But animals are smart about plants, right? Is there something here that could cure the poison?"

The dragon bobbed his head, and Gojyo once again saw the the dragon's eye shining in the sun.

He shook his head. "What is it with you and your eye?"

The dragon came closer and sat back on his haunches. He dipped his head down to his foot, plucked out his eye and dropped it in the sand.

Gojyo swore loudly. "No, damn it! Put it back!"

The dragon stared hard at him and Gojyo again saw the eye, only this time it was moving, swinging, flashing, and then it was gone.

Gojyo stared at the dragon. "Eh...you want me to hang it up?"

The dragon head-bobbed again.

Gojyo chewed his lip and wondered if that had been the dragon's intention the first time. He looked around, grabbed the rope and unwound several strands, and then he picked up the eye and worked carefully at tying knots that would hold the eye in place.

After several frustrating and tedious minutes, he completed his task. He stood and looked for a place to hang it and settled on the corner overhang of his shelter. The eye flashed and reflected the firelight.

He looked back at the dragon, but it was already walking back inside the shelter so he followed it inside. He checked on Sanzo first, listened to breathing that sounded more labored, and felt his forehead again. Nothing else seemed changed and so he lay down beside him and joined him in sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Gojyo woke to morning sunlight and the sounds of scratching and tapping. He sat up and looked to the dragon's sleeping spot but didn't see the dragon. He quickly turned and checked on Sanzo. The corners of his mouth were tinged blue and his skin was ashen, but the wheezing breaths were evidence enough that he was still alive.

"Sanzo." Gojyo touched Sanzo's forehead again and then gently shook his shoulder. "Hey."

Sanzo's eyes flickered open for a moment, and he gazed unseeing toward Gojyo's chest, and then they shuttered closed again.

"Don't go dying just yet. I need time to figure this out." He smoothed the blanket and lay back again and scratched his fingers through his hair. He could still hear the tapping, and then the loud rustling of feathers; seabirds stealing his fish.

He rolled to his feet and ran outside to find a large raven perched on the corner of his roof pulling at the string that held the dragon's eye.

"Hey! Shoo! Leave it!" He jumped up and swung at the bird.

It hopped out of the way and settled back on the roof cocking its head as it looked at Gojyo.

"That's quite an ugly curse you wear," the raven said.

Gojyo stared at the talking bird, and decided at that moment that he was quite done dealing with anything magical.

"I've heard ravens were the smartest birds around, but you're just a master of the obvious."

The raven laughed - a _chuk-chuk_ sort of noise - and then fluffed his feathers and walked closer to the edge of the roof.

"Where did you find this pretty object?" It grabbed the string with its beak and pulled on it again.

"On the island."

"Was there more than one? Two perhaps?" The raven had managed to get the dragon's eye up onto the roof and now plucked at the threads wound around it.

Gojyo frowned. "Just the one. And you're not getting it. Unless..."

The raven stopped its pecking and raised its head. "Unless?"

Gojyo hesitated, because he wasn't sure what the dragon's intentions had been, whether the eye was only meant as a signal or something else altogether. He felt terrible about offering something that didn't belong to him, but he realized he was desperate.

"Unless you help me," Gojyo finished.

The raven laughed again, and Gojyo thought it was an unpleasant sound.

"Why do you think I'm here? Even as the crow flies, that's not a hop and skip across the water."

The sensation he was being mocked was overridden, mostly, by the relief Gojyo felt at the idea that help had finally come.

"What are you going to do?" Gojyo asked.

"What am I going to do, I wonder?" The raven flapped its wings about as if mimicking deep thought, and launched off the roof. "I don't know. What do you want me to do?" He flew directly at Gojyo.

Gojyo batted his arm out, but the raven avoided the blow, landed in the sand, and hopped its way inside the shelter.

Gojyo followed, stopped in the doorway and watched the raven watching Sanzo. "Can you cure him?"

The raven hopped closer to Sanzo, leaning in precariously close to Sanzo's face. It cocked its head and hopped on Sanzo's arm.

"Do you want to cure him? Or do you want a cure for yourself?" The raven looked around the small space. "Or perhaps you want something altogether different?" The raven hopped back down beside Gojyo's feet to skip and flutter out the door. "It's a shame you only have a dragon's eye and not the whole dragon, don't you think?"

Gojyo's frown turned to a scowl. "What do you mean?"

"Well, with a whole dragon, you could do so many other things." The raven reversed directions and hopped back inside the shelter. "For instance, a few drops of freshly squeezed dragon's blood would cure this poison."

Gojyo resisted the urge to look around for the dragon, realizing suddenly that the dragon had been conspicuously absent.

"Even if I were lucky enough to have a dragon, and I'm not, how would a dragon's blood be a cure? Are there no other cures for poison?"

The raven tilted its head and gave him a sly look. "The poisonous magic of witches and wizards can only be combated by the magic of a stronger wizard. A dragon's eye such as you have, only comes from a wizard's dragon. And a wizard's dragon is made of nothing more than wax, and string, and bits of things, and a touch of wizard's blood."

The raven hopped back onto Sanzo's arm. "I know that dragon's eye you keep on a string, and the wizard who made it - wizard more powerful than this curse."

Gojyo could only stare at the raven as he tried to absorb what was being said. And then the raven turned and nibbled on Sanzo's hair.

"Hey!" Gojyo took a step forward and the raven leaped down onto the blanket.

The blanket squeaked and moved, and Gojyo knew where the dragon was. And so did the raven.

The raven hopped up and down on the lump under the blanket until the dragon all but slithered out to hiss and snap. The raven flapped and skipped away back through the door.

"How convenient! You suddenly have a dragon!"

Gojyo looked at the little dragon hissing angrily and then back to the raven. "I don't believe you. I'm not killing a dragon. Tell me another cure."

The raven clacked its beak in chastisement. "You can't kill a wizard's dragon. You repurpose them. I told you -"

"No. That's not what I want anyway." Gojyo had thought hard and fast as he'd listened to the raven. He'd looked at Sanzo, and remembered what Sanzo had told him about the two people he'd met who'd tried to help.

"You don't want a cure?" The raven turned and strutted a few steps away.

"Since you speak so well, I want you to deliver a message."

The raven turned and fluttered back, its gaze one of assessment. "You might be smarter than you look."

"Tch. I get that a lot. Will you deliver the message?"

"For the dragon's eye?"

Gojyo hesitated again and looked back at the dragon in the doorway and its empty eye socket, and there was that sudden flash, acceptance from the dragon.

"Yes," Gojyo said, but his heart felt weighted with guilt. "There's a tailor's shop. A man named Hakkai. Tell him he can find Sanzo, and two more, on this island."

The raven spread its wings and flapped into the air. He feinted a dive at the dragon before lifting up to land on the roof, where he gave the string with the dragon's eye a hard jerk. The string came loose from the roof, and the raven flew into the sky and back toward the mainland with the eye swinging and sparkling like a beacon in its wake.


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm sorry," Gojyo said again, to the dragon. "I didn't know what else to do." He felt like the dragon might be tired of hearing his apologies, and he knew he was tired of saying it, but he meant it every time.

After the raven had flown away, Gojyo had checked on Sanzo again, waking him enough to force him to drink a sip of water. And then Gojyo and the dragon had sat down outside to eat fish and watch the horizon. They watched the sun crawl across the sky, dipping toward evening, and he'd checked on Sanzo several more times, when they finally saw a boat in full sail.

"There," Gojyo said, almost afraid to get his hopes up. "That has to be for us."

The dragon chirped encouragingly.

Gojyo watched it slowly getting closer, noticed it not only had a sail, but was larger than the skiff that had deposited Sanzo. And when it was a hundred or so yards away from shore, Gojyo gave in to his hopeful curiosity and walked down to meet it.

He could hear the voices of a man giving directions, and a young boy chattering in response; it had to be Hakkai and Goku.

"Ahoy, ahoy!" Goku shouted and stood on the bow and waved. "We're here!"

Gojyo thought they might be the sweetest words he'd ever heard.

The tide was rolling in and pushed the boat easily with it. It wasn't so large as to be unwieldy, and as it bumped onto the sand, Gojyo grabbed the bow and pulled.

Goku and Hakkai jumped out and pushed from the sides and stern until they'd settled it above the tide.

Hakkai brushed off his hands and smiled. "I do hope you're the Gojyo we've heard of, and not some wild island native."

Gojyo grinned. "The one and only."

"Where's Sanzo?" Goku asked excitedly, and ran a few feet away. "The bird said he was here!" He turned and ran back and stopped suddenly in front of Gojyo.

Up close, Gojyo realized the boy resembled a monkey, standing slightly stooped and covered in fur. He recalled Sanzo mentioning that they might also have been cursed. Poor kid.

"Wow, you look way worse than me!"

"What?" Gojyo's eyebrows went up.

Goku turned to Hakkai. "He looks like that ugly water sprite in the river! Right, Hakkai?"

"Goku, mind your manners. We don't talk -"

Gojyo interrupted. "At least I'm not a monkey, monkey!"

"Better than a water sprite! You even smell like fish!"

"Now, now." Hakkai wrapped a hand over Goku's mouth. "There will be time to discuss your unique situations later." He removed his hand from Goku and looked at Gojyo. "Where is Sanzo?"

Goku stuck his tongue out. Gojyo started plotting ways to irritate the brat as he led them both up to his shelter. The space was too small for all of them at once and Gojyo let Hakkai go inside to have a look at Sanzo. When he came out, he was holding the dragon.

"You have an amazing creature here, and I do have questions. But first, Sanzo is in very poor condition. I'm worried we have very little time, so we shouldn't linger. Do you need to gather your things?"

Gojyo knew there was nothing he needed to take with him. "No. I'll carry Sanzo."

In short time, they'd pushed off and were all in the boat, and Hakkai was adjusting the sails and setting course as they drifted away from shore. Gojyo sat beside Sanzo and rested a hand on Sanzo's back.

The boat rocked hard from an underwater blow.

"What was that?" Goku yelled, and looked over the side.

"Ah, shit! Get your head up, kid! I forgot to mention the sea serpent." He looked at Hakkai. The boat lurched and floated sideways through the water.

Hakkai's eyes were round with surprise. "I see. I wonder if we could pick up some speed..."

"Gah!" Goku yelled as the serpent's head rose above the water and above the side of their boat.

Gojyo was already on his feet, dagger drawn, and he slashed at its head, but was unable to deal a disabling blow as it weaved away.

Goku grabbed one of the unused oars and hit it in the head when it came in his direction. It disappeared under the water, and they watched warily, bracing themselves against the motion of the boat.

The serpent rose from the opposite side. Goku shouted in surprise and stabbed at it with the oar handle, piercing its eye. It rose up further, flinging back its head and jerking the oar from Goku's hands.

Gojyo leaned out and stabbed with his dagger, once, twice, under its jaw. It flung itself backwards, away from the blows, and back into the water.

They watched and waited again, felt it bump the side and bottom of the boat, and then it was quiet.

The wind had kicked up into the sail and they were moving at an easy clip, but they didn't relax for several minutes more.

"I suppose it's gone," said Hakkai.

"You think we killed it?" Goku looked up at Gojyo, eyes wide.

Gojyo shrugged and sat back down. He studied Goku, who looked part fearful and part in awe of the event. "Eh, you know, you were pretty good with that stick. Maybe we did kill it. Either way, it sure won't mess with us again."

Goku grinned and nodded. He sat down on the other side of Sanzo and patted his own lap to try and coax the dragon into sitting there, instead of its poor hiding place between Hakkai's feet.

Hakkai sat on the bench by the stern guiding the rudder. He reached further back to turn up a lantern hanging from the post behind him.

The sun was no longer visible, just a pale line above the water blended to green and the deep blue of night, while a nearly full moon began to cast its pale light all around.

Gojyo smiled tiredly. "Thank you for coming."

"I wish that we could have arrived sooner, but the fisherman from whom I rented this boat had to show me how to operate it, and, I had to pay him a large deposit."

"Well, you're good. I couldn't tell."

Hakkai smiled. "I'm a quick learner. An important skill, I think, that comes from the variety of jobs I've held in past servitude."

Gojyo nodded in understanding. "I've been a man of many trades and too many masters, myself." He thought a moment and chuckled. "And look, here today, you've added captain to your many skills."

Hakkai blinked owlishly at him, and then laughed loudly. "Indeed. And perhaps you're now the master of a dragon?"

"Nah." Gojyo turned to look at the dragon now curled in Goku's lap. He realized Goku was nearly asleep, his head nodding as he futilely resisted. Gojyo looked at Sanzo, but could not tell if he were any worse. He lay a hand on Sanzo and felt the rise and fall of his chest.

"The dragon's not mine," Gojyo continued. "I just found him and fed him." He looked at the dragon again. "It's a strange thing though. It removed its own eye without harm. That's how we called the raven and sent the message." Gojyo didn't add that the dragon had tried to get him to perform that same action weeks beforehand. It galled him to think he could have been rescued before this night. And if Sanzo ever found out, he might never hear the end about his stupidity. Sanzo had to survive this first though. Gojyo frowned.

"Ah, it was very smug for even a raven; tap-tapping on my window relentlessly."

"Yeah. I didn't like its personality." Gojyo shook his head and looked at Hakkai. "Tch. It told me I'd have to squeeze blood out of the dragon to cure Sanzo."

"Is that so?" Hakkai looked thoughtful. "Then it may be as I surmised. You have found a wizard's dragon."

"Huh. That's what the raven said. And that it was a powerful wizard."

Hakkai raised an eyebrow. "The raven fancies he's an expert? Did he know if this unnamed wizard was more powerful than Lady Gyokumen?

Gojyo shrugged. "Don't remember it all, but he might have suggested it."

"Well this is very fortunate for us. If it's as the raven said, then we have the cure right here. When we return to -"

Gojyo felt his guard go up and his temper flared. He felt helpless to save anyone. "I want Sanzo to live, but it shouldn't mean taking the dragon's life!"

"Of course not!" Hakkai looked appalled at the idea. "We merely need to get some blood from it. Not an easy task to remove blood from wax, but it can be done."

"Are you serious?" Gojyo pointed at the dragon. "How can that dragon be made of wax? It eats and drinks and shits just like any living thing."

"Because it is a living thing. The blood magic inside of it must still be nourished."

Gojyo stared at Hakkai for a long moment, fighting the doubts and anger with what seemed like plausible reasoning. He raised his hands in a gesture of submission.

"Tch. Fine. I am finished with magic. I just want to end these curses."

"Me too," Goku added, sleepily.

"Three," mumbled Sanzo.

"Sanzo?" Gojyo leaned forward and peered at Sanzo's face, but Sanzo's eyes were closed.

Goku leaned forward as well. "Sanzo? Hey, Sanzo. We're in a boat!"

Gojyo pushed Goku back. "He doesn't care about that!"

"I would! So why wouldn't he?"

Sanzo took a deep breath and Gojyo thought it sounded painful.

"Both of you. Stop talking."

"That you've found strength to speak is a good sign, Sanzo" Hakkai said. "We should arrive in the harbour in an hour or so."

Goku stuck out his tongue again, but Gojyo ignored him. Just hearing Sanzo made Gojyo feel a little more hopeful about the situation, and that maybe they still had time to work on a cure.


	8. Chapter 8

Gojyo thought it close to midnight when they arrived at the dock, its two lamps still lit for the night fishermen. No people were in sight, and Gojyo was thankful for that since he had nothing to cover his head. He'd left his shirt on the island and thought nothing of it at the time.

He couldn't believe the joy he felt just to step on wood planks and walk on solid packed road. He revelled in the smell of garbage and gaslights, and the faint scent of meals cooked and eaten; meat, onion, bread. His mouth watered and stomach grumbled.

Hakkai let them into the shop, placed the dragon on the floor, and set Goku about to light lamps. He took one for himself.

"Upstairs," he said to Gojyo, and Gojyo followed him, carrying Sanzo carefully up the narrow staircase.

"Sanzo's room." Hakkai opened a door and waved Gojyo past him. He set the lamp on a dresser beside a washbasin and mirror, and hurried to pull back the sheets on the bed.

Gojyo lay Sanzo down and looked at Hakkai. "What do you need me to do?"

Hakkai smiled gently. "Nothing just yet. I've thought on the way here what should be done, though. I'm going to talk to the dragon - does it have a name?"

Gojyo shrugged. "Never named it."

"Oh. Well, I'll think of something. It seems silly to just call it - Dragon. But then again, it is a dragon, so it wouldn't be wrong." Hakkai paused, his eyes unfocused, and then he laughed softly. "Now is not the time." He raised an eyebrow. "Would it be presumptuous of me to think you'll be staying in the same room?"

"Eh...no." Gojyo rubbed his fingers through his hair, and then smirked a little. "But it might be presumptuous of me, under the circumstances."

Hakkai smiled demurely. "Very well. I'm going to gather a few supplies. And Goku - it's not nice to eavesdrop."

Goku shuffled into the room from the landing carrying his own lamp. "Sorry."

"Make up a room for Gojyo, please, and then take yourself to bed. It's late."

"But we missed dinner. And you might need me."

"I'll need you alert in the morning, when I'm tired from staying up all night. Please make it so."

"Oh! Right!" Goku nodded energetically and waved at Gojyo. "This way!" He led Gojyo to a room next door and flung it open with a bang. "Here ya go!"

Gojyo glanced around and saw the room was exactly as Sanzo's room; small and neat, with a single curtained window, and bed linens already on the full-sized bed. "Not much making up to do."

"Nah. Hakkai just worries about it being dusted and stuff." Goku set the lamp on the dresser.

"Heh. He seems the type."

"Yep! And don't get anything dirty, or he'll get all scary. You need anything? Wait! I should get you some water. Be right back." Goku ran from the room, leaving the door open wide. His footsteps thumped down the stairs.

Gojyo took a deep breath and sighed. Everything was quiet except for muffled banging below his room. It was almost too quiet and it took him a moment to realize there was no ocean breeze and no waves crashing on the beach.

"Damn," he whispered. He strolled to the bed and flopped back onto the softest and fluffiest mattress he'd ever lay on. He grinned and rolled over, found the pillow, and hugged it. It could only be better if Sanzo were there beside him. His smile faded.

He pushed the pillow aside and sat up. Where his hand rested on the bed, he could feel the sand he'd shed onto the blanket. He suddenly wanted a bath in clean water. He wanted the food he'd smelled on their way here. He wanted Sanzo to be his normal grumpy self so badly that it hurt.

He would go see if Hakkai needed his help yet. And he'd check on Sanzo. And then maybe hint at wanting something to eat, and with that plan of action, he stood and took another quick glance around the room and moved to grab the lamp.

There was a washbasin on his dresser also. And a mirror. He let go of the lamp, and stepped quickly in front of the mirror and looked.

"Shit. Oh shit, shit, shit." He covered his face and rested his elbows on the dresser. He was going to be sick. No. And he swallowed. It wasn't that bad. Just shocking. Unexpected. But not that bad.

He peeked through his fingers and slowly pulled his head up. He was aware of his own ears, but seeing them so long was strange. And the horns on his head weren't that noticeable, except that they pushed up underneath his hair making it stand out like weeds or a bug's antennae. He'd been able to feel the scars on his cheek. But around the scars was not the dry cracked skin he'd imagined. The flesh was a sickly grey-green and as scaled as a dragon, or even a fish, and it ran from his cheek to forehead. A few splotches of the same were on his chin, neck, and it was creeping across the bridge of his nose.

"I brought your water," Goku said, from where he stood the doorway.

Gojyo jumped back, startled. He had to resist the urge to cover his face with his hands now that he knew how disconcerting his appearance was. But Sanzo had seen it and made only vague remarks, and Hakkai hadn't batted an eye. Goku compared Gojyo to a water sprite. Gojyo had seen one once when he was young, and he suddenly understood why Goku thought that. It did look as if Gojyo were being turned into _something_.

Goku set the jug on the dresser, and took Gojyo's place in front of the mirror to look at his own reflection.

"I looked at myself every day. A lot." Goku turned around and shrugged. "But then I got used to it," he said matter-of-factly.

Gojyo couldn't find words to respond, and it must have shown on his face, because Goku suddenly smiled.

"Hakkai's really smart. He'll think of something to fix all of us."

"Before we're turned into freaks of nature?" The words were out before Gojyo could stop them. "Tch. Sorry."

Goku looked ready to say something rude, but he stopped as Hakkai stepped into the room.

"Ah, Goku, are you finished here?"

"Yep! Goodnight!" He scurried from the room and a door slammed down the hall.

Gojyo wondered if Hakkai was the sort to do his own eavesdropping, but refrained from saying it aloud.

"If you could follow me to the kitchen." He said to Gojyo and turned back the way he'd come. "I've made Sanzo as comfortable as possible. Not knowing what the poison is actually doing makes it hard though. But I think I've everything."

The kitchen was long and narrow with an iron stove and stockpot of water boiling on it, and lengths of counter with dishes stacked neatly. A large metal tub sat beside the stove, partly filled with water.

Hakkai tipped the boiling water into the tub and stepped back. "I thought you might want to bathe before turning in, so I took the liberty of drawing a bath. But if you -"

"I accept." Gojyo stuck a finger into the water and found it pleasantly hot. He stripped off his pants and climbed in and groaned with happiness. He had to sit and bend his knees, and the water only rested above his belly button, but it was perfect. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Hakkai passed him a bowl, a cloth and bar of soap. "We seem to be the same height. I've brought down some things you might be able to wear, and I can adjust them if needed."

"Again, thank you." Gojyo had already poured hot water on his head and was scrubbing vigorously. He breathed in the fresh soapy scent.

Hakkai went over to the dragon sitting on the counter, and pulled a stool from underneath and sat. He removed a case from his pocket and inside was a large gold sewing needle.

"When I was young," Hakkai said. "My sister and I were sold to an old witch." He reached out and stroked the dragon's back. "We would sew all sorts of things for her that were used in her magic. But then she died, and my sister and I were sold again, separately. I don't know what happened to her. When I was old enough, I searched everywhere and worked many a job."

He held the needle up in front of the dragon. "Just a poke." And he stuck the needle very carefully into the dragon's chest.

"I thought I found my sister once, marrying the cruel owner of some manor, and I interrupted their wedding, demanding he set her free. But it wasn't her. I couldn't remember what she should look like."

He withdrew the needle, lay it in a bowl, and patted the dragon. He picked up a small folded piece of cotton and pressed it to dragon's chest.

"And I accidentally killed the groom. His family nearly gutted me, but I escaped. Goku found me. He was lost in the woods, but he never left my side." Hakkai paused. "I think to this day, that they might still be hunting me. But as it is, I returned to the witch's home hoping to find clues about my sister. Instead, I found the magic loom still there, and this magic sewing needle. You see it draws blood to the surface. And then I can use that blood to sew that person's own special properties into the fabric. That's what I do, besides tailoring."

Gojyo had finished bathing, and was getting dressed in the clothes provided. They were snug in places, and so he left the shirt unbuttoned.

Hakkai pulled the cloth from the dragon, looked at it, and smiled. He held it up to Gojyo, showing him a red blotch. "We have what we need."

"Um. Was I supposed to help you?"

"No. You seemed quite distressed. I just wanted you to see that the dragon was neither squeezed nor killed. And, forgive my forwardness, but you needed a bath." He stood. "Let's go see what we can accomplish."

"Did you ever find your sister?" Gojyo asked as they went back upstairs.

"No. I've stopped looking, for now. It seemed more important to heal. And to give Goku some sort of structure. I think he was lost for a very long time as he seemed very uncivilized when we met."

They entered Sanzo's room and Sanzo was as pale and still as when Gojyo had lain him there.

Gojyo watched as Hakkai took the cloth and rubbed it across Sanzo's throat, leaving behind bloody streaks.

"That's it," Hakkai announced. "Now we wait."

"Do you know what you're doing? I thought he'd have to drink the blood."

"I considered it. But I have some understanding of how magic works, and it seemed correct to undo the curse in the same way in which it was done. And from what I saw, this is what she did."

Gojyo thought it sounded questionable, the same way Hakkai had said he'd had learned to sail the boat just before actually sailing it.

"No other hocus pocus?" He wiggled his fingers in the air. "No magical words - Undo what was done?"

Hakkai pursed his lips together a moment. "No," he said slowly. "But perhaps you'd also like to try the fabled, true love's kiss?"

Gojyo felt the warmth of embarrassment. He rolled his eyes. "Tch."

Hakkai only smiled and bid him goodnight.

Gojyo lingered in the room, unable to bring himself to leave for fear that their ideas wouldn't work and Sanzo would die during the night. He slumped beside the bed and leaned his head back and listened to Sanzo breath.


	9. Chapter 9

Sanzo woke to dull, grey morning light, and Gojyo snoring from somewhere below the edge of the bed. He carefully rolled over, the motion making his muscles ache with weakness, and he dropped a hand down beside the bed and found Gojyo's arm. He pinched it.

Gojyo grunted and then jerked away. "Sanzo?" Gojyo climbed up into view, nearly falling onto the edge of the bed in his half-awake state.

"Thought you were given your own bed," Sanzo muttered. "Your snoring woke me up."

"Damn. It's good to hear you grumbling again." Gojyo carefully climbed over Sanzo onto the other side of the bed and lay down.

"Hn. Why didn't you just get in the bed last night?"

"Tch. I was protecting your honor." Gojyo rolled closer so that the warmth of his knee rested against Sanzo's thigh. "How are you feeling? Better?"

"Like I was turned inside out. But yes, better." Sanzo tried to see Gojyo's face in the dim light but couldn't read his expression.

Gojyo reached over and touched his cheek. "Good. I hate to think of all the other magic shit Hakkai could come up with."

"Tch. I'm not going to ask." Sanzo rolled the rest of the way over, his back to Gojyo. After a moment, he felt Gojyo spoon up behind him, arm sliding around his waist.

Sanzo sighed tiredly, because he liked his space when he was sleeping. "Don't think you can get cozy just because -"

"Now who's complaining," Gojyo teased, his breath tickling Sanzo's neck. "Go back to sleep."

"Tch." Sanzo kicked with his foot, but Gojyo trapped it with his own, and hugged Sanzo tighter.

Sanzo woke around mid-afternoon, to Gojyo's voice booming from downstairs, "Monkey, monkey, monkey!"

It was followed by a crashing sound and Goku's even louder screech of, "Water sprite! Water bug! Horny cockroach head!"

Gojyo's laughter was followed by Hakkai's muffled tones and a protest from Goku.

Sanzo rubbed his hands over his face and made his slow way out of bed and downstairs. His body still ached, inside and out, but his stomach growled and he thought that might be a good sign of his recovery.

At the bottom of the stairs, Goku saw Sanzo and ran right up to him. He pointed at Gojyo.

"I saved some of my breakfast for you and he ate it!"

Sanzo sighed and walked past him. "I'll eat later."

Gojyo sat on one of the stools at the work table and waved his fingers at Sanzo. "The sleeping princess awakens."

Sanzo ignored the empty stool and pushed Gojyo off the one he sat on. "Don't start. And this is my spot."

Gojyo caught himself and seemingly unfazed, took the empty seat. "I know I said I was glad to hear your grumbling, but it has a limit."

"So does my patience." Sanzo slouched and rested his face in his hands. "Goku alone is noisy, and so are you. The two of you in the same room is chaos."

"Yay! Lunch!" Goku ran over to help Hakkai carry food from the kitchen.

Sanzo picked at his food and drink and listened as Hakkai explained how he'd decided on Sanzo's cure, and then he praised the dragon for its bravery.

The dragon was perched on his shoulder and seemed quite pleased with itself.

"And I've already begun to restore his wings," Hakkai continued. "I might try a lighter fabric, and need to find the proper wax blend. And you might not fly very far, but you'll certainly glide."

The dragon squeaked cheerfully and unfurled his wings. Where the blackened armature of a skeleton had existed was now silky white fabric with intricate stitching holding it in place.

"Looks good," said Gojyo, and he leaned close to Sanzo's ear. "Him and that dragon have been talking all morning. It hardly ever talked to me, and I took care of it for a month."

Hakkai clucked his tongue. "He said he tried to talk to you, but you just weren't very attuned to his manner of speaking."

"Maybe because Gojyo's stupid," Goku said around a mouthful of food.

Gojyo threw a bread roll at him. "He doesn't talk to you because you have monkey brains."

"Agh!" Goku would have leaped on the table but Hakkai stopped him.

"Tell Sanzo about our adventure, Goku."

And so Goku gave his version of how they'd sailed to the island and fought a sea monster, and Gojyo embellished it, and then backtracked to tell Sanzo about the dragon and the raven.

"The raven's still out there,' said Goku. "Sitting on the bakery roof. I saw him this morning when I emptied the pisspot."

Gojyo scowled. "Maybe I can catch him and get your eye back."

The dragon chirped.

"Hn. That's the least of your worries," said Sanzo. "We need to catch Gyokumen first and get her to remove the curse on both of you."

"Yeah. I'll get something to cover up and start looking for her."

"Don't waste your time. I've been all over this town and the woods around it. We'll have to wait for her. But she won't be expecting us again."

"Sanzo. If I may remind you, she was just here." Hakkai reached up to pet the dragon. "She might not return for another month or so."

A glum silence filled the room.


	10. Chapter 10

It was late when they all turned in for the night and the full moon shone pale blue light though all the windows. Hakkai helped an exhausted Goku to bed. Gojyo had worn the boy out playing games, wrestling, and wrapping him in bolts of fabric only to unroll him and leave him dizzy. The noise they both created was nearly intolerable.

Sanzo had felt better as the day turned to evening, and the effects of the poison had seemed to pass completely. He prepared for bed, washing his face in the basin, and laying out the things he would need the next day. They had already decided that Gojyo would don a hood and they'd both start their search fresh.

When Sanzo had seen Gojyo on the island, he'd not thought the curse monstrous so much as startling, and within a few hours, he'd grown used to it. He'd noted that since their return, that Gojyo had cleaned up, and the handsome, smiling face was still there when he turned just so.

Sanzo was aware of Gojyo watching him now from the open doorway. He set his short sword and scabbard that Hakkai had found and cleaned, beside the dresser, and turned to face Gojyo.

"Were you planning to protect my honor again by standing guard all night?"

"Haven't seen you in a month and when I do, you're dying. I'm just reassuring myself you're okay." Gojyo crossed his arms and leaned back against the doorframe. "And I'm imagining what I'm going to do with you after I get rid of this curse."

"Hn." Sanzo smirked and sat on the edge of the bed. "If it bothers you, close the door and turn down the lamp."

Gojyo straightened, his gaze intent. "It doesn't bother you?"

"No more or less than any other part of you." Sanzo barely finished speaking and Gojyo had the door closed, and was leaning down to claim Sanzo's mouth in a careful kiss. The bed dipped as he climbed in. "I just want to lay with you. We don't need to do a damn thing."

"That's all your imagination could conjure up?" Sanzo could feel the length of Gojyo's body pressed against his own, their hands wandering over each other. It wasn't like anything they'd done before; so often fast and needy and a little rough. But it felt right.

Gojyo chuckled, puffs of air against Sanzo's neck. "Ah, there might have been a little more of this." And he slid his hand down to squeeze Sanzo's ass. "But the whole package seemed too good to resist." He brought his hand back up, and Sanzo shivered as Gojyo stroked fingers over his chest.

A sharp tapping noise filled the room and they both stopped and looked at the each other and then the door. The tapping sounded again and they both turned toward the window.

"It's that damned raven." Gojyo sat up and kneeled across the bed to the window. "Go away!"

Sanzo could see the bird tilting its head to peer inside. It raised and lowered its wings, and then spoke.

"The moon shines down upon Gyokumen tonight!"

Gojyo looked over his shoulder at Sanzo, and then swore, and turned and opened the window.

"What do you know?"

"The Lady Gyokumen is vulnerable on a night such as this. I can take you to her." The raven bobbed its head and then hopped atop the window frame. The room's lamp reflected sharply in its black eyes. It looked at Sanzo. "You've fared well. Newly arisen as the morning sun."

"What do think want?" Gojyo reached for the raven and it hopped further into the room. Gojyo slammed the window shut.

"An excellent question. What do I want, I wonder?" The raven leaned closer. "Something from Lady Gyokumen. If you can catch her." The raven flapped and lifted itself to land on the edge of the washbasin. It leaned close to the mirror and pecked at its reflection.

Sanzo stood and dressed. "Who cares what it wants. We'll catch her." He moved up behind the raven. "But we need to know how to silence her magic. What can you tell us about that?"

The raven spread its wings dramatically. "Remove her tongue."

Gojyo scoffed. "You make it sound easy. How do we stop the spells before that?"

"I can guide you. The rest is your decision."

"Tch." Sanzo finished fastening his weapons and drew his short sword and pointed it at the crow. "It sounds evasive to me. Maybe you're leading us into a trap."

The raven ignored the sword. "True, I will not lose anything if you fail." The raven looked at Gojyo. "Did I lead you astray when I told you how to make him well? And did -"

"What about him?" Sanzo pointed at Gojyo. "What needs to be done to remove his curse?"

"So many questions! She cursed him with his own blood. Let him bleed on her." The raven fluttered back to the window sill. "Time is wasting."

Gojyo let the raven back out the window, and then looked at Sanzo. "Are you well enough for this?"

Sanzo nodded, grabbed the lamp, and opened the door.

Hakkai stood outside the door on the landing. "Oh. Well I thought I'd heard voices."

Sanzo felt Gojyo crowding up behind him.

"The raven is taking us to Gyokumen," said Gojyo. "But you probably heard that."

Hakkai's cheeks flushed dark. "Ah, yes. I'd like to help if I can."


	11. Chapter 11

Sanzo swore mentally to himself each time he heard crackling leaves on the path behind him, though at least the sounds of nearby stream helped to cover their footsteps. They'd argued with Hakkai, which had woken Goku, and now they were all four following the raven through the forest. The only caveat Sanzo had was he'd insisted that Hakkai and Goku stay far back from himself and Gojyo.

Having tracked game in the past, Sanzo had the lead and he could feel Gojyo's presence at his back. Gojyo didn't have the tracking experience, but he made up for it in strength. And for all his occasional idiocy, he was fast-thinking in a fight.

Up ahead, he saw the raven glide to another branch, turn to look at them, and then it dove up through the trees and away without a sound.

Sanzo raised his hand up to Gojyo. Gojyo tapped him and pointed, singling out one of the robed attendants, hood back and goblin-face exposed, leaning under a stand of trees. They crept forward more slowly and Sanzo as the trees thinned, they saw four more spread out in a grassy clearing, each one standing just under the line of trees.

Sanzo followed their gaze. The stream was visible, and what looked like a natural rock pool branched off it. Lady Gyokumen was bathing in the pool. The water sprite Sanzo had encountered during his search of the forest was in the pool with her, braiding Gyokumen's freshly washed hair.

Sanzo frowned. She was too far in the open and they were either going to have to lure her out, or wait for her to exit the pond and come near the trees.

He turned to tell Gojyo, but Gojyo was several feet away, creeping steadily toward the closest goblin and when he was within a few feet he stopped.

Idiot! Sanzo wanted to shout.

From somewhere behind Sanzo, a branch cracked. The goblin raised its head and scanned the trees and then turned away.

Sanzo slowly let out his breath, and then winced when there was rustling.

The goblin looked again, and took a few steps closer to Gojyo. Gojyo sprung up beside the goblin, thrust his blade into the goblin's soft underjaw, and lifted it off its feet. The goblin flexed once and then went limp and hung in the air on Gojyo's blade.

Gojyo lay the body down and when he stood again, he had removed the robe. He fastened it around his own shoulders.

"Gojyo," Sanzo whispered.

Gojyo turned in Sanzo's direction, and then flipped the hood up and strode out of the trees and towards lady Gyokumen.

"Sanzo," Hakkai whispered, as he came up from behind. "What's he doing?

"Hell if I know. The bastard. But it's probably something stupid," Sanzo murmured. "Stay sharp." He looked past Hakkai and saw Goku. "Stay back unless someone needs help."

"He's nearly there," Hakkai again whispered.

Gyokumen was stepping out the water and slipping on a robe. Sanzo suddenly recognized it as the one Hakkai had fashioned for her.

Gojyo was within ten feet of Gyokumen when she looked up. His stride didn't change.

"Do you have something to report?" Her eyes flickered past Gojyo and to the path near where Sanzo still crouched.

In that split second, Gojyo charged, his speed and weight carried them both into the pond. He had her head shoved under the water before she'd made a sound.

Chaos erupted as the goblins shouted and ran at Gojyo, while the water sprite disappeared beneath the surface.

"Let's go!" Sanzo yelled. He couldn't believe Gojyo had pulled off such an idiotic and brazen stunt, but then again, that's what Gojyo was good at.

Gojyo hauled Gyokumen out of the water by her braid, and when she gasped for air, eyes wide and mouth open like a fish, he pushed her under again.

The first goblin was nearly on Gojyo. Sanzo crashed into him with his shoulder, bowling them both over. Sanzo rolled away, saw the goblin already on its feet and looming over him, and Sanzo landed a kick right in its face. It fell backwards and Sanzo leaped to his feet and stabbed the goblin before it could rise.

"Gojyo!" Sanzo stumbled toward the pond.

Gyokumen stood bent over, coughing and choking and straining to pull her braid away from Gojyo who'd been pulled under the water himself.

She stopped, took a deep breath and screamed, "Be-"

Sanzo jumped on her, his weight sinking them both under the surface. He grabbed her face, found her mouth, and wrapped his hand around it and pulled her back up with him.

She thrashed against him, her hands clawing at his fingers and then reaching back for his eyes. He leaned away, unbalancing them both. She screamed against his hand and tried to bite him, and Sanzo shoved all four fingers in her mouth. She bit down and dropped her weight, and Sanzo thought he might lose his fingers.

"Shit!" He hated himself for it, that he let go just enough for her to twist away. Tangled in her robe, she scrambled ungracefully to her feet and swung back around to him.

Sanzo grabbed her arm and reached for her throat. As she opened her mouth to speak, there was as flash of movement just behind her, and she collapsed.

Gojyo stood dripping over her, holding a fist-sized rock, and gasping for breath. "Are you all right?" He looked from Gyokumen to Sanzo.

Sanzo took a quick look around, saw Hakkai and Goku walking away from their targets. He looked back at Gojyo.

"I'm fine, and you're an idiot! Shit! Don't even talk!" Sanzo clenched his bitten fingers together and grimaced. He kneeled down beside Gyokumen just as Hakkai and Goku came up alongside him. "We need to remove her tongue."

Gojyo kneeled on her other side and carefully grabbed her face and pressed her jaw open. He peered inside.

"Tch. Take care of it before she wakes up!"

Gojyo removed his dagger and lay it on her stomach while he poked around in her mouth trying to pull her tongue out.

She groaned.

"Hurry up."

"This isn't easy!" Gojyo pinched her tongue with finger and thumb from both hands and extended her tongue as far as he could. "I'll hold her and you do it."

Sanzo swore softly, and picked up the dagger.

A flurry of black appeared as the raven swooped between them, and with its beak, snipped right through her tongue. The raven landed a few feet away, tossed the tongue in the air, and swallowed it whole.

In a flash, where the raven had landed, there stood a dark-haired man robed in black. He held his arms wide and looked down at himself, and when he looked up, his smirk was broad. "I was betting against your success, and yet it appears I still win."

"You were cursed like us," said Goku.

"Unfortunate, but true," the man agreed. "You see, the Goblin Queen - a fair lover, an excellent student - she learned all my spells rather quickly." He sighed."But one can never trust a goblin, not even a queen. Now I believe you have business to attend to, as do I. Adieu."

"Excuse me." Hakkai approached the man. "How might we reverse the spell on Goku, if Gyokumen has no tongue to remove the spell herself."

"Or the queen's curse," added Sanzo.

The man's gaze was cool and considering as he looked at everyone. "I suppose I have what I came here for." He walked over to Gyokumen and nudged her with his foot."You've already woven a spell that could undo a tapestry of crimes. I'd certainly never do business with you."

"So there is something to what I've created. I knew it. But how..."

"How, indeed." He waved his hand in nonchalance. "Stain the cloth with a touch of blood from the maligned, and it should right every wrong."

"Tch. Well, bleed on it then," Sanzo grumbled at Gojyo.

Gojyo gave him a dirty look. "I'm not bleeding right now."

Sanzo held out the dagger.

Gojyo grimaced, took it and jabbed at his hand. He shook it until a few drops of his blood spattered onto the cloth and Gyokumen's skin. Just as before, her skin hissed, smoked, and settled. The robe smoked and continued to do so.

"Be generous," the man said, and turned to leave. "The more blood spread, the faster the curse burns off."

Gojyo squeezed his hand and wiped the excess on the robe. The smoke increased as the robe was eaten away. He stood. "You can't leave yet."

"Oh?"

"The dragon's eye. What are you going to do with it?"

"What could one do with a dragon's eye, I wonder?" The man smiled a tiny smile. "Nothing at all. It's quite useless without the dragon. Just another pretty, shiny object."

Goku ran up beside Gojyo. "If you're not gonna use it, you should give it back!"

The man studied Goku, and seeming to come to a decision, reached into his robes and withdrew the dragon's eye still on its string. He bent over and held it out to Goku and smiled. "A very boring trinket, for a very interesting boy."

Goku gave the man a wary look as he took the eye. "Thanks."

"I must leave." He waved toward Gyokumen. "Be sure to cut off her braid, or she'll have hordes of goblins after you." He spread his arms wide, and then folded them in tightly, and walked away down the path, a little hop in his step before he disappeared into the darkness.

Sanzo frowned and looked at the others. "I don't like him. But he's been right about everything else." He pointed at Gojyo. "Cut off her braid."

"Why am I doing all the dirty work?" Gojyo grumbled, but he kneeled down again, and started cutting her braid close to her head.

Gyokumen woke from all the tugging, and she made a wordless protest just as the braid fell free from her head. Where Gyokumen had lain was now a field mouse. She squeaked and scampered away.

The robe left behind only burned faster.


	12. Chapter 12

When they returned to the shop, Hakkai relit a few lamps. The dragon sat on the shop counter and welcomed them with a chirp.

"Hey guys, look! It's disappearing!" Goku held out his furless arms, looked at Gojyo, and then pointed at Gojyo's head. "And you're not as ugly." He laughed.

Sanzo watched as Gojyo tsked and rubbed the top of his own head and felt his now shorter ears.

"About time. Hey. Give me the dragon's eye."

"But I got it back."

"Tch. I'm the one that asked for it first. Besides, it's only right I give it back since I took it."

"Goku." Hakkai's stern voice quieted Goku and he handed it over.

Gojyo pushed the eye out through the knots and rubbed it on his shirt. He held it up and the dragon sat very still. "Here you go." Gojyo carefully pushed the eye back in its socket and then gave the dragon a pat. "Thanks, dragon."

Upstairs, Gojyo stripped out of his wet clothes and helped Sanzo with his clothes since his fingers were bandaged.

Sanzo reached out and touched the single scar that remained on Gojyo's cheek.

Gojyo grasped his hand and grinned a little wider. "No curses. No magic. No witches or ravens. Just you and me."

He kissed Sanzo and pushed him back on the bed. And while they still moved together roughly with need, their touches were sure and steady, and their words sounded less like desperation and more like want and acceptance.

Their release came quickly; Sanzo with a low moan, and moments later, Gojyo, with a muffled shout against Sanzo's skin.

Gojyo smoothed his fingers through Sanzo's sweat-laced hair, and then rolled away to their skin cool. He cast his eyes around the room, still bright with the moon.

"I kind of like it here," he finally said. He refrained from saying, 'with you', because then Sanzo might call him an idiot, and he'd be right.

Sanzo grunted, but Gojyo couldn't tell if the sound meant, 'I agree,' or 'I don't care,' but he knew it wasn't, 'no.' He grinned to himself, because that meant progress and lots of future possibilities.

He rolled onto his side, and propped his head on his hand.. "You really think everyone's curse was removed? We don't have Gyokumen to take back."

"I thought of that." Sanzo sighed. "We'll have to return to the king and tell him what happened. If the queen is by his side, we'll know then. We should probably leave in the next day or so."

"Yeah, thought so." Gojyo stretched and lay back again. "But I was thinking maybe in week. Make sure we're all at our best." He nudged Sanzo, and Sanzo finally looked at him. "A week would be good," he repeated.

"Tch." Sanzo rolled away, his back to Gojyo, but Gojyo thought he'd seen Sanzo's mouth curve up in a smile.

Gojyo slid up against Sanzo's back, draped an arm over him, and tangled their legs together. When Sanzo only elbowed him once, Gojyo knew, they were definitely making some progress, and he would make sure they had a whole week to make more.

.

.

***the end***


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